Wednesday, June 12, 2013

This was by far our smallest group of players: M, V, S (NOT via Skype, but LIVE!), G and L2, and all five players remarked on how much they'd be able to accomplish with a smaller (and much more focused) group. Characters in play this game were Dave, Reaper, Tiny Tim, Billy, Paul, Gorgoron, Anja, Bellatrix, John, James, Annie, Angara, and Justin.

The party had been hanging around Milburn Hall for a month, and sending meat to Scrint and Beeko in the tunnels every two or three days, when they decided it was time to go after the kobolds again. They met the two goblins on their way through the earthen tunnels, at the first intersection, and asked them to lead the way to the stairs down to the second level. At the bottom of the stairs they heard knocking sounds that seemed to come from the wall to their left. They searched for hollows and secret doors, but found nothing, and the sounds gradually faded, so the party set off to explore.

They tried a door they'd skipped during their previous visit, and found a room with a carved wooden throne set on a stone dais. Paul sat on the throne, and was disappointed when nothing happened. After much searching, they located a loose stone at the base of the dais, and pulled it out. Paul reached into the space behind it, and pulled out a golden necklace set with gems, and further searching turned up nothing else. They decided to take the throne, which was bulky but not too heavy, and they carried it back to the base of the stairs.

Leaving the throne at the stairs, the party set off in a new direction. After exploring and mapping several hundred feet of passages, Gorgoron accidentally set off a trap in the middle of a hallway, and was struck by a poison arrow. He made his save, but was felled by the arrow anyway. The party quickly bound his wounds, and then attempted, unsuccessfully, to disarm the trap. Scrint and Beeko asked Dave, the only character who can speak goblin, if Gorgoron was dead, and if so, if they could eat him. When he assured them the group wanted to save Gorgoron, the goblins offered to guard the body while the group continued exploring. Eventually, Billy decided to stay with Gorgoron and the goblins, so they went back to the throne room to hide out.

The rest of the party continued on, and not too much later encountered a gelatinous cube. At first they thought it might be a magical barrier of some sort, but closer examination showed coins floating in it, so they attacked it. After several rounds of a very one-sided combat, they'd dispatched the creature and collected some coins, a potion and a ring!

Continuing, they mapped more empty corridors and rooms, and then, while searching a dead end for secret doors, Dave took watch. He was were surprised by another gelatinous cube, which actually ran into him before he noticed it... but his armor protected him from the creature. This time, with only forty feet of space to fall back in, the combat was a little more even: Paul, Tim and Bellatrix were all paralysed before the cube was dispatched! This time, they found three uncut Alexandrite along with a small amount of coin.

This time, the party decided to return to Milburn Hall. They went back to the throne room for Tim, Gorgoron and the goblins, then made there way upstairs, carrying the Gorgoron, the three paralyzed characters and the throne. Paul's paralysis wore off first. At exit from the caverns, they realized they couldn't easily pull the throne through the earthen tunnels. Tim and Bellatrix revived while the party was trying to decide whether to enlarge the earthen tunnels for the throne. In the end, they left the throne in the care of Scrint and Beeko, and headed back to Milburn Hall.

They attempted to help Gorgoron but his wound proved too much for him, and he passed away. They sold the gems, and the necklace, and Justin used his read magic on the labled potion bottle to determine it was a Giant Control potion. Detect magic showed the ring to be magical, but they were unable to determine what it was.

Bellatrix reached first level and opted to become an Apprentice (1st level thief) as did Annie. Angara became an Acolyte (1st level cleric) and James became a warrior (1st level fighter).

As the players settled in to play, they discussed their options. Suggestions for the evening ranged from continuing their exploration of the Kemper Village Mausoleum, to joining the Orc tribe, to heading south, in a new direction, through the swamps. It had been 3 months since they last ventured forth from Milburn Hall, so I let them know that another group had visited the Kobold's lair while they were sitting around. This group had returned with much treasure, including a golden necklace set with gems that the Jeweller bought for 4000 gold pieces! Immediately, all other plans went by the wayside... treasure hunting was the order of the day!

Arming themselves, the party set off for the kobold's lair. As they explored an area in the caverns they'd never been to, they surprised a group of goblins. They slaughtered ten of them (and saw the death of Shern) before the last two fell to the ground and begged for mercy. It turned out the two were a couple, Scrint (male) and Beeko (female) and they cried piteously until the party agreed not only to spare them, but to help them survive by bringing them meat between adventures! Beeko fainted, and remained out most of the rest of the night, waking up occasionally to scream and faint again. At their behest, Scrint led them to the place the kobolds lived, but the cavern proved empty. After searching for a while, they found a secret door, with a staircase behind it, leading down.

As the party headed down the stairs, the walls of the cavern gave way to dressed stone. The party followed a long corridor, coming at last to a locked door. The Apprentice, Dave, attempted to pick the lock, only to be blinded by a gas trap, and the party was unable to get through the door. Just around a corner beyond, the party found another door, went through it into a large room, and found a large group of kobolds. This time, they showed no mercy (of course, none was asked), and they handily wiped out all sixteen kobolds. Looting the bodies, they found both copper and silver coin, several gems, a wrought silver and gold necklace, and a jade bracelet the head kobold had been wearing as an armband.

They returned to Milburn Hall, promising Scrint they'd bring meat every few days to help the goblins survive. At the Hall, they sold the gems and jewelry, and divided up their loot. Salvador, Rudy, Draco and John all earned enough experience to reach first level: Salvador and Draco became Mediums (1st level Magic-Users), John a Warrior (1st level Fighter) and Rudy an Acolyte (1st level Cleric).